1. Field
The present invention relates to an other vehicle information providing device which allows moving bodies such as vehicles to perform transmission/reception (inter-vehicle communication) of positional information therebetween and provides drive support information on traveling based on the positional information of both vehicles to one vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, there has been proposed a drive support system which can confirm a position, a traveling direction and a speed of another vehicle or other vehicles (other vehicle) with respect to one's own vehicle (own vehicle) by exchanging information by inter-vehicle communication using a short-range radio.
This system, due to the inter-vehicle communication within a fixed range of the own vehicle, for example, by receiving information on a type of other vehicle, positional information on other vehicle, information on a traveling state of other vehicle such as a speed, a direction, can acquire information on traveling states, relative positions and the like of a plurality of other vehicles present on a periphery of the own vehicle.
In such a drive support system, vehicles constituting objects which provide drive support information to the own vehicle are basically some vehicles among a plurality of other vehicles which are present within a communication range of the own vehicle. Accordingly, the drive support system calculates priorities based on information acquired from the respective vehicles, and determines the order of priorities, and displays information on the vehicles having high priority. Such a system is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent No. 3923572. The drive support system calculates the order of priorities once for every system time (for example, 0.5 seconds), switches information on the object vehicle so that the drive support system can provide information on other vehicle having high priority at this point of time with sound or with an image display.